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So ‘the curfew tolled the knell of parting day’ but not so much of ‘the ploughman homeward plods his weary way’ - more of a dash to the village hall for last Wednesday’s meeting – the second print competition with the set subject of ‘Landscapes’ The judge – all the way from Stoke Poges (in case you wondered why the poetic start!) – Kevin Day.

A really good selection of prints awaited Kevin’s critical gaze – landscapes of all varieties in both colour and monochrome. This subject is a great one for moody and atmospheric monos isn’t it – especially mountains and gleaming watercourses. So in the monochrome section we went to Skye for the distinctive pinnacles of The Quiraing and The Cuillins; to the Brecon Beacons for Pen y Fan in winter (felt cold just looking at it!); to the Lake District – and even as far afield as Tierra del Fuego! Colour can give the opportunity for softer landscapes – and we saw this too! In this section we covered most parts of scenic Britain – even taking in the urban and industrial landscapes – as well as venturing as far as the USA and Namibia.

Kevin gave each image a thorough examination, making constructive comments as he went through them. He also commented on the overall high standard of photography in our club (and he’s far from being the only person to say that!). So at the end of the evening we had images scoring 20s. In the mono section they were: Tony Bates for ‘Taking In The View’ (which was also awarded the star); Nigel Farmer for ‘The Cuillin Mountains From Elgol’ and Ceri Jones for ‘Shepherd’s Cottage’. In the colour section 20s went to Eric Needs for ‘Scottish Tundra’ – and two to Ceri Jones for ‘Sunset Over Snowdonia’ (starred) and ‘Evening Landscape’.

This means that the evening’s winners were – in the mono section – in 3rd place Tony Bates with 36 points and in joint 1st place Ceri Jones and Nigel Farmer – both with 39 points! In the colour section second place was shared by John Sexton and Bill Scott – both with 36 points. In first place scoring a perfect 40 was Ceri Jones.

A superb evening – great images and good judging. Congratulations to all who attained the highest positions and/or were awarded 20s – and indeed congrats to all who entered and gave us such a good and fascinating time. Thanks too to Kevin – who no doubt we’ll see again in the not too distant future!